Fallout
by Wilshards
Summary: FBI's Supervisory Special Agent Carl Henshaw and his team investigate a gruesome discovery off the coast of Miami in the aftermath of Hurricane Laura, and also try to make sense of the events that unfolded at the end of Season 8. WARNING: Spoilers for the entire series!
1. September 2012

_**Disclaimer:**_

_1. All publicly recognizable characters, settings, etc. are the property of their respective owners (Showtime, Jeff Lindsay). The original characters and plot are the property of the author. The author is in no way associated with the owners, creators, or producers of any media franchise. No copyright infringement is intended._

_2. All characters, events etc. portrayed in this story are fictional and any resemblance to real persons or events is purely coincidental. Also, locations, legal procedures etc. described in this story are not necessarily factually correct nor are they intended to be._

**From the personal journal of FBI's Supervisory Special Agent Carl Henshaw…**

**September 25, 2012**

Today me and my team arrived safely in Miami after an almost three hour flight from Washington DC. I've been assigned to a new case, one that could prove to be the biggest challenge in my entire career. In over 30 years at Bureau I have worked on a wide variety of cases involving fraud, corruption, extortion, kidnapping, cyber crimes, armed robbery, human trafficking, assassinations and even domestic terrorism and serial killings. But I have never worked on a case involving this, not with this many casualties at least.

Four days ago a devastating hurricane hit the Miami Metropolitan Area. Hurricane Laura they call it. It must have really stirred the Atlantic waters as two days ago dozens upon dozens of bodies and body parts began washing up on the shores of Miami, a lot of them wrapped in heavy duty plastic garbage bags. All of them were found in an advanced state of decomposition so there's absolutely no doubt that the hurricane could not have killed them. Not to mention that hurricanes don't lead to the smooth dismemberment of their victims. Speculations in the media about who or what might have done this had already begun, as usual, before the Bureau even got here to properly examine the evidence. Theories included organized crime, a Bay Harbor Butcher copycat killer or former accomplice, and even the idea that the true Bay Harbor Butcher was never caught and that Lundy got the wrong guy. No matter, I am here to get to the bottom of this.

The first order of business is to examine and ID the bodies, establish a pattern that could lead to our killer, while at the same time set up a naval task force to look for any other bodies that might still be down there.

**September 26, 2012**

I met with Miami Metro PD's Homicide division, but due to the nature of this case I'm only allowing them limited involvement and keeping a close eye on them. Notable people of interest include Captain Thomas Matthews, Lieutenant Angel Batista, Sergeant Angie Miller, detective Joseph Quinn, and forensic analyst Vince Masuka. I got my own forensic techs and medical examiners to look over the bodies. Indeed, the Modus Operandi matches that of the Bay Harbor Butcher for almost all the bodies that were found. The killer severs the limbs and the head. The cuts are smooth, precise, he clearly has a lot of experience. Body parts are then placed into heavy duty garbage bags, along with rocks to make sure that they always sink. Opening intact bags also reveals plastic wrappings, clothes and other leftovers, I'm guessing the killer uses the plastic to keep his own hideout clean, free from any traces of the victim's DNA. Most of the severed heads even show traces of a cut on one of their cheeks, again just like the Bay Harbor Butcher. Strangely, some of the more recent bodies do not have this cut, it's possible he may have stopped collecting his blood slide trophies at some point. Perhaps if I figure out the event that triggered this slight change in the MO, I will find the person who did it. If this is not him or at least some former accomplice, it is a very sophisticated copycat killer.

I have serious doubts that this is in fact the same Bay Harbor Butcher. Going over the BHB case files and Lundy's journal, there was overwhelming evidence linking Sergeant James Doakes to the murders back in 2007. And even though Lundy expressed some doubt early on in the investigation, he could not deny the evidence in the end. It is extremely unlikely that someone would be able to pull off such an elaborate frame job.

Plus, four of the bodies found, a young adult male, a middle aged male and two elderly males break this pattern. For one thing, they were never dismembered, but three out of four were wrapped in plastic, the same kinds used on the other victims. The fourth one, an elderly male, appears to have been shot in the stomach and then dumped into the ocean, perhaps unrelated, perhaps the killer got reckless, we shall see. The manner in which the young adult male was killed also raises some questions. Wrapped like a mummy, yet a large portion of the back of the cranium removed, neatly cut open, just like that.

I'm hoping that over the course of the next couple of days my forensic analysts will ID the bodies.

**September 27, 2012**

Several more unidentified bodies have been found, some were found by the naval task force, some simply washed up on shore. One body had been placed in a large carrying bag, cause of death, blunt force trauma, another deviation from the usual Bay Harbor Butcher MO, perhaps unrelated. But all others fit the same profile. Will ID soon.

We've also found several complete bodies with no signs of a violent struggle, recently deceased. Most likely victims of the Hurricane Laura. Does not pertain to the current case.

**September 28, 2012**

Shocking discovery off the coast of Miami. Homicide detective Debra Morgan's body was found in white hospital sheets, washed up on shore this morning. Her colleagues at Miami Metro PD immediately recognized her. This does not seem to be at all related to the case, no signs of blunt force trauma or other human caused injury apart from the previous gunshot wound of known origin, but it is odd.

Besides, at the time she disappeared, she was in an ICU at Miami Central Hospital, on life-support and in a coma after complications from being shot in the line of duty that left her permanently brain damaged, so there is no way she could have walked out of there alone. Despite Miami Metro PD's interrogations and interviews, nobody at the hospital was able to explain exactly how her body went missing, much less how it ended up at the bottom of the ocean, and there was extensive damage done to the building due to the hurricane such that we were not able to retrieve a single relevant security footage or fingerprint.

The night she disappeared from the hospital was the night all patients were being transferred to a different facility. Is this the result of gross criminal negligence fueled by the widespread panic of an impending hurricane? Perhaps we'll never know. No arrests have been made so far, but the hospital manager has already submitted his resignation following this tragic event.

**September 29, 2012**

My team has finally managed to ID most of the 32 bodies and as I suspected, most of them have, at some point in their lives, been convicted, tried or at least suspect of murder, and it's a sure bet that others have at least some kind of dark secret.

This is true for all the bodies that break the standard MO, all of them have been convicted or suspected of something nefarious. There is definitely enough reason to treat these cases as related, even though there are some questions still left unanswered. These special cases are as follows:

- Zach Hamilton, young adult male, suspected of murdering Norma Rivera but Miami Metro PD was never able to obtain evidence on him and according to detective Joseph Quinn the only witness who could place him at the scene recanted, manner of death back of the cranium cut

What's really strange about this kill is that we already know who did it, Oliver Saxon, the infamous Brain Surgeon. We have footage of him doing it. But the manner of disposal is puzzling, entirely wrapped in black plastic, just like the next victim. Was Oliver Saxon the Bay Harbor Butcher copycat? If he already has his own MO, why copy others? Will investigate further.

- Albert J. Yates, middle aged male, serial killer who went after women, manner of death, stabbed through the stomach with a long foreign object, possible a pole, wrapped in black plastic just like Zach and dumped in the ocean  
- Clint McKay, elderly male, ex-convict, not a murderer as far as I can tell but definitely a scumbag, perhaps the killer knows something we don't, manner of death stabbed in the heart once, like the usual victims, but not dismembered, body wrapped in translucent plastic  
- Victor Baskov, middle aged male, cop murder suspect, bludgeoned to death and dumped in a long carrying bag  
- Isaak Sirko, elderly male, Ukrainian mob boss and suspect in a triple murder, released due to evidence going missing, enough said, shot in the stomach and then dumped into the ocean

The other victims that we could identify, all in line with the standard MO, are as follows: Ron Galuzzo, Carlos Guerrero, Julio Benes, Joe Walker, Ben Williams, Roger Atkins, Cole Harmon, Boyd Fowler, Jordan Chase, Stan Beaudry, Jonathan Farrow, officer Zoey Kruger, Benito Gomez, Fred Bowman AKA 'Freebo', Arthur Mitchell AKA 'The Trinity Killer', Nathan Marten, Ethan Turner, Clemson Galt, Billy Fleeter.

The other victims' identities remain unknown.

**September 30, 2012**

A memorial service was held today for Deputy US Marshal Max Clayton, detective Debra Morgan and her foster brother Dexter Morgan, a forensic analyst that was himself killed in the hurricane. It was very sad to hear that Dexter's body was never even recovered for a proper burial. Close friends and colleagues gave speeches about their dedication to combating crime in Miami. It was truly a sad day for Miami Metro PD, USMS and law enforcement in general.

Investigation into my current case will resume tomorrow.


	2. October 2012

**October 1, 2012**

I've been looking into Oliver Saxon's history to see if he can be linked with these new sets of murders. So far I know he killed Zach Hamilton, but did he kill the others? I wish I had a chance to interrogate him personally, but he is dead, the report says he was killed trying to break out of custody. He attacked forensic analyst Dexter Morgan who managed to fight back. It's sad that he survived Saxon's attack only to be killed in a hurricane soon after, but that's fate for you.

Apparently, his real name is Daniel Vogel, son of Dr. Evelyn Vogel, a well known neuro-psychiatrist. Institutionalized at a young age for murdering his brother, he was believed to have died in a fire. In truth, he survived and took on the identity of Oliver Saxon. Several months ago he began a spree of killings in Miami for which he was nicknamed the Brain Surgeon. His MO, Cutting the back of the cranium of his victims, his base of operations, an abandoned psychiatric hospital in Miami.

For a time the police believed the Brain Surgeon to be Lyle Sussman, but Saxon's leaked videos proved that he was just another victim, and that Saxon framed him. The reports say that Sussman committed suicide, I highly doubt that, most likely Saxon set that up too.

**October 2, 2012**

Another interesting discovery, Miami Metro PD found a set of sharp knives at his hideout the day he killed Marshal Clayton and shot Debra Morgan. We managed to scrape some traces of DNA coming from different victims and found a positive match for at least 5 of the new Bay Harbor murder victims.

There certainly seems to be good evidence linking Saxon to these new murders and my bosses in Washington DC are pushing for a swift closure of the case with Saxon as the Bay Harbor Butcher copycat killer.

Still, I'm not convinced, something is off. As tempting as closing the case and coming home a hero might sound, I want the truth, all the truth and nothing but the truth. This is not over.

**October 14, 2012**

I knew it. There is no way Oliver Saxon could be the Bay Harbor Butcher, copycat or otherwise. Someone must have planted the evidence. An extensive background check on Saxon revealed that he had only recently moved to Miami. He rarely lives in the same city for more than two years. There is absolutely no way he could have committed most of these murders and certainly none of them prior to 2012.

If I am to find the real killer, I must go back to the victimology. What connects these murder victims, other than their criminal past? And who would have the time, knowledge and resources to carry out such an elaborate vigilante operation in almost perfect detail?

And is it possible that Sergeant Doakes was not the Bay Harbor Butcher? After all, this killer doesn't have any problem framing other people, planting evidence. I still find it unlikely given that the case rested on more than just potentially planted evidence, but the best way to answer all of that is to look into Saxon's final days.

What exactly were Clayton and Debra Morgan doing at the abandoned hospital that day? And how was Saxon able to outsmart two fine law enforcement workers in the manner that he did? One stabbed the other shot? How does that make any sense?

**October 16, 2012**

Miami Metro PD has nothing, they can't explain why Debra Morgan was there, what exactly lead her to Saxon's hideout, just that she had called for backup minutes before getting shot, at which point she called dispatch again for an ambulance.

I found out however that Internal Affairs has indeed been conducting its own discreet investigation into Debra Morgan's mysterious shooting and subsequent disappearance and death. All they know so far is that Marshal Clayton was not working with Debra Morgan to bring down Saxon, he was following her every move. They have a witness, Jacob Elway, the owner of private investigation firm and Debra Morgan's former employer. He can tell me more.

**October 17, 2012**

I spoke to Elway. He and Marshal Clayton were working together to track down a murder suspect and fugitive, Hannah McKay. They believed Debra Morgan was hiding her from the law and were trying to obtain evidence of it. Very interesting… Where have I heard the name McKay before? Ah, yes, Clint McKay, Hannah McKay's father, was murdered by the same killer I'm tracking.

I asked Elway why an upstanding officer of the law would ever harbor a wanted fugitive, especially given that Debra hated her. He believes it was to help her brother, Dexter Morgan. Dexter and Hannah were once a couple, before her arrest in late 2011. Elway believes they had somehow reconciled and were trying to flee the country with Debra's help. Can't say I have any reason to doubt him, apparently Dexter Morgan's son, Harrison Morgan, was last seen with Hannah McKay, right before she fled to country. Interpol is looking for them but they haven't found anything yet.

In any case, there's definitely more to the Morgan family than meets the eye, will investigate further.

**October 18, 2012**

Unfortunately, my investigation cannot continue further at this time as I have been recalled to Washington DC due to "urgent matters" pertaining to "national security". Apparently there is a major terror plot coming our way and they need more agents on the case in order to prevent it.

Perhaps this is no coincidence as I'm sure they will also try to push, yet again, for me to drop the Bay Harbor Butcher case and close it as soon as possible with Saxon as the culprit. But I'm not giving up.


	3. Meanwhile

**Meanwhile…**

**Somewhere in Oregon…**

Solitude… when almost everyone who's ever been close to you has died and it's all your fault, what other option do you have to protect the few who still stand? That is why I'm here on the other side of US. But solitude has its consequences… When you have nothing and nobody to live for what do you do? Kill yourself? I tried. If I believed in a higher power I'd say it wants to keep me here a little longer as punishment for my failure. But old habits die hard. And it's those old habits that fill the void.

"Wake up, Pat!" I yelled at him, slapping him hard on the face.

He'd been bruised, knocked unconscious, dragged into an old train car about 9 miles southwest of the logging camp and then tied down using crude rope. No plastic covering the interior this time. Not very professional of me, I know, not too long ago I was lecturing amateur wanna-be vigilantes about how a proper kill room should be like, but when you're a simple lumberjack barely above minimum wage, cut off from Miami Metro, you're not exactly all that resourceful. And I prefer to think that Dexter Morgan died that day in the hurricane.

Meet Patrick Miller, age 39. Lumberjack, loner, pedophile and serial killer.

"Earl? Earl McCreary? What the fuck am I doing here? Why did you punch me in the face? Why am I tied down here?" he asked with fear in his eyes.

"Because you're a bad person. You abduct, rape and murder little girls and leave their corpses out into the forest to be eaten by the wolves."

"You're crazy, man!"

"I've seen you try to do it last Friday, I've been following you. Who do you think it was that popped your car's tires? Me, that's who. It was the only way to stop you temporarily. You were about to abduct another one from the school not 20 miles east of the camp. And now it's time to permanently put an end to it."

"I couldn't help myself, you have to understand, just please, turn me in, you don't have to do this."

"Oh believe me, Patrick, I've tried to stop you the right way, I really did. I even gave the police several anonymous tips about the missing girls and still they were too incompetent to figure out it was you. No, you're not leaving this place alive."

"Please! I'll turn myself in! I'll confess to everything!" he pleaded in vain.

"I let two murders go before. They killed again as soon as they were free. There's no taking chances anymore. The police can't stop you and you'll kill again."

"I'll kill you, McCreary!" he said in anger.

"Ha! Do you know how many times I've heard that over the years? First they beg for mercy, then they get angry and threaten me and then… death. Oh, that's right, this is not my first time and my name's not Earl McCreary. I'm Dexter Morgan and I'm the true Bay Harbor Butcher! And now that you know, I definitely have to kill you."

"They'll catch you!"

"Like they caught you? No, I don't think so," I smiled.

"Fuck you!"

"Normally this is the part where you get stabbed through the heart, chopped into little pieces and dumped into the ocean, but I can't really leave a mess like that and the ocean's not very close by," I said as I strangled him to death with a crude rope. Something I'd have to dispose of by the way, can't risk getting caught through ligature marks.

That night I buried Patrick's body in the woods, nobody was around to see it. It was a long night, but with the weekend coming I wouldn't have to worry about getting up for work.

This is me now, I live a simple life, I work a menial job, I keep a low profile. I hang out with my co-workers of course, wouldn't want someone to start thinking there was something off about me again, especially when living under a forged identity. But I never let them get close.

No girlfriends.

No best friends forever.

No family.

Nobody can ever get close to me.


	4. November 2012

**November 27, 2012**

I'm back in Miami at last and back on the Bay Harbor Butcher case. I restarted the investigation with an interview of a potential witness who'd been waiting for days to come forward. In the end, there was no useful information to be gained from him, a waste of time, just a dead end. Our "Bay Harbor Butcher" turned out to be nothing more than a poor disabled fisherman who likes late night fishing. Hardly fitting of the profile. Will go back to examining victimology.

**November 30, 2012**

Going over the list of the victims and examining their background I found several strange coincidences.

Ron Galuzzo – former patient of Dr. Evelyn Vogel who was presumed murdered by Daniel Vogel AKA Oliver Saxon, the Brain Surgeon

Albert J. Yates – former patient of Dr. Vogel

Zach Hamilton – former patient of Dr. Vogel, I think Saxon had some connection with the BHB

Carlos Guerrero – now this is an interesting one, apparently he had a hand in the kidnapping and attempted murder of Sergeant James Doakes years ago, spent some time in a federal prison but was paroled 4 months ago shortly before his disappearance, very interesting, could our killer be a former accomplice of James Doakes? Survivor's guilt? Framer's guilt assuming Doakes really was innocent? As with all recent killings, there is no cut on his cheek.

Clint McKay – Father of Hannah McKay, herself a murder suspect and apparently still girlfriend of forensic tech Dexter Morgan at the time of his death

Morgan.

Why is this name such a common element in the background of many of the other victims? For example, Dr. Vogel was close to the Morgans, Doakes always had a grudge against Dexter according to their co-workers and according to Lundy's case journal, also:

Joe Walker – went to the same high school as Dexter Morgan, disappeared the night of his 20th high school reunion

Arthur Mitchell, the "Trinity Killer" – murdered Dexter Morgan's wife Rita Morgan and was never found, until now

Stan Beaudry – he was somehow connected to the Trinity Killer but nobody ever found out how exactly, well he was murdered too

Ethan Turner – the closest connection was through Assistant District Attorney Miguel Prado who had failed to obtain a conviction

Clemson Galt – same as above

Billy Fleeter – same as above

Fred Bowman – suspect in the murder of Miguel Prado's brother, that's four victims connected to a prosecutor who was a close friend of Dexter Morgan at the time

Several of the victims also have a connection to Miami Metro's Homicide division for example:

Isaak Sirko – arrested for a triple murder, released due to evidence going missing

Victor Baskov – murdered detective Mike Anderson

Boyd Fowler – suspect in the Barrel Girls murder case which was investigated by Miami Metro

Jordan Chase – same as above

Cole Harmon – same as above

Jonathan Farrow – boss of Timothy Brand, a murderer caught by Miami Metro

Frank Lundy always had a theory that the killer was of law enforcement background. Indeed, someone this meticulous would need professional training. Could Dexter Morgan really be the true Bay Harbor Butcher? Could he have framed Doakes or at least worked with him at some point and continued his legacy after his death? There still is no conclusive evidence so far and the fact that I can't bring him in for questioning makes things even harder. It's harder to speak ill of the dead.


	5. December 2012

**December 2, 2012**

Why didn't anyone tell me this before? Incompetent fools! I'm not the first person to suspect that Dexter Morgan was the Bay Harbor Butcher. Captain Maria LaGuerta also had her suspicions about Dexter in late 2011. How convenient that she was found murdered in a shipping container along with Hector Estrada, the man who killed Dexter's mother, a few days after making her suspicions public. My God, and the fools had the brilliant idea of letting Dexter Morgan write the forensic report of LaGuerta's death, a complete conflict of interest which they dismissed out of hand. Since that's all we have and both bodies have long been incinerated, we can never know the truth now. I suppose LaGuerta dug her own grave when she arrested Dexter Morgan on poor evidence, but still.

There was a warrant to track the GPS data of Dexter's mobile phone, but thanks to their feelings and their undying conviction that LaGuerta was nuts, they never pursued it, the warrant expired and the data is most likely gone by now.

Fuck, I've never been this angry in years! I'm going for a jog in the rain to calm my nerves.

**December 3, 2012**

Still no hard evidence against Dexter Morgan, but more evidence of Miami Metro's incompetency. When Travis Marshall was killed in a fire, they actually found a blood slide. They found a god damn blood slide! The same kind that Doakes took or should I say allegedly took from his victims as trophies. And they dismissed that as well, all except for LaGuerta of course.

**December 5, 2012**

We found another body washed up on the beaches of Miami. Miles Castner, husband of Maggie Castner or should I say, Hannah McKay. As usual, another body connected to Dexter Morgan or someone directly close to him.

**December 8, 2012**

Looking into Dexter Morgan's background we found some shocking discoveries. His name used to be Dexter Moser and the details of his past were long buried under a mountain of paper work and sealed adoption documents. He was born in 1971 to Laura Moser and witnessed his mother getting chopped to pieces with a chainsaw in shipping container. Three of the men responsible either died under suspicious circumstances or simply disappeared. He was also the biological brother of Brian Moser. Yes, the Ice Truck Killer is related to Dexter Morgan. Brian witnessed the same event and look where that got him. Dexter was adopted by officer Harry Morgan, that is how he became part of the family. Brian was institutionalized until he was an adult.

A boat, a quiet life, late night activity according to his neighbors, it all fits the profile.

But it's all circumstantial. No hard evidence yet.

**December 9, 2012**

We served a search warrant on all of Dexter's remaining properties. We found nothing. He keeps himself clean. No blood, no weapons, no trophies. Nothing.

No trophies… Hmmm… Travis Marshall was killed late 2011. That was the last time anyone ever found a blood slide. Based on our approximate timeline all the victims killed after Travis's death did not have this cut. Yes, it all makes sense. Travis didn't commit suicide, he was murdered. The killer knew someone was on to him so he stopped collecting blood slides. And who else would know, but someone who works for the police? But why did he kill Travis Marshall the way he did? Why not just dump him in the ocean?

**December 13, 2012**

After several days of the investigation going nowhere, I decided to check back with IA and Elway again. I shared my suspicions about Dexter Morgan and Elway was cooperative. He too suspected there was something off about Dexter, not just because of his association with a fugitive and murder suspect but also because of something he did at the airport, the day he was trying to leave the country with Harrison and Hannah.

I managed to confirm this with the TSA at Miami International Airport. There is video footage. I could see him clearly buying a bag, placing some random items in it, nothing dangerous though, placing it under a chair in the boarding area, and then blaming Jacob Elway for it so the TSA would have no choice but to escort him out. Unfortunately, that backfired and resulted in the entire airport being evacuated.

Lab geek my ass. He has some balls to do that.

**December 14, 2012**

Speaking of balls, why would a lab geek need advanced jujitsu training? And why, despite being the top of his class in medical school, did he choose this career? And why blood spatter analysis in particular? He likes this, that's why. He is overqualified. Again, it fits the profile.

**December 17, 2012**

So what is Dexter Morgan's connection to Oliver Saxon / Daniel Vogel? Saxon killed Zach but he was disposed of in a manner more suitable for the Bay Harbor Butcher. I've been looking into Saxon's final days, trying to figure out what happened at the hospital and I finally have a working theory that fits the forensic evidence.

Saxon is tied to his own kill chair, Clayton comes in and unties him. This is pretty obvious from the fingerprints left behind. Saxon grabs a knife belonging to the Bay Harbor Butcher and stabs Clayton. Saxon takes Clayton's gun. Debra Morgan enters the room and is shot in the stomach. She manages to fire back but Saxon only sustains a minor injury.

I know why Clayton was there, he was just following Debra. So what was Debra doing there? Is she the Bay Harbor Butcher? Not likely given she called for backup. So who or what tipped her off about Saxon's location? Or was she on to her foster brother being a killer? What if Dexter tied Saxon up and was preparing to kill him? Still no evidence actually linking Dexter to all of this, but damn there sure are a lot of coincidences.

**December 21, 2012**

Of course, how could I not see it? It's been right in front of me since I got here, security footage of Dexter Morgan killing Oliver Saxon. They say it was self-defense and indeed it's hard to argue with that once you see the video.

I watched it at least 30 times and yes, it was self-defense. Dexter unpacks his forensic kit. They exchange a few words although the lack of audio makes it impossible to tell what they're saying. Saxon grabs the pens and stabs Dexter with it in the arm, nothing too serious. Dexter pulls it out, punches Saxon and stabs him with the same pen in the neck. Very skillful too, he trained for this.

Since the camera is only facing Saxon, I can't really see the look on Dexter's face. But it is pretty obvious that he doesn't have the slightest remorse about it. Normally first kills trigger some kind of emotional reaction in normal people, even for self-defense, some even suffer deep guilt, post-traumatic stress disorder. But not Dexter, it's not his first kill. He's done this before. Just look at how calmly he kills Saxon, how precise he handles that pen like a weapon, how he casually pushes the red button at the end. He's not shaking, he barely hesitates, he's just… ice cold.

He's a monster.


	6. The Fire

**Meanwhile…**

**Somewhere in Oregon…**

It was a cold winter night in West Linn, Oregon and Gerald Deckler had just fallen asleep. And he slept rather soundly… for a murderer, just as he had slept soundly the other hundreds of nights before. But tonight was the night.

Boom!

He woke up to the sound of an explosion. He was on his feet in no time and opened the door to his living room to see what was going on. He saw nothing but fire and smoke quickly spreading as well as an out of place photo of someone familiar to him up on one of the walls that had not yet caught fire. His former drinking buddy, Joe, a victim of his burning rage, how did that photo get there? There was no time for an answer. All he knew was that he had to get out fast.

He went for his key under his pillow but couldn't find it there anymore. So naturally, he would kick the door down… and fail miserably at bringing it down. His 47 year old foot would never get through that reinforced wooden door. So over-protective of his own life and property he failed to realize he had been his own worst enemy all along. And the only two windows he had were already engulfed in flames.

There was only one way out. Upstairs. That's when he finally noticed me. I was standing there at the top of the stairs with the key in my hands.

"You're looking for this?" I asked.

"Earl? How did…? Nevermind, we have to get out of here," he responded as he rushed up the stairs.

"You look fine right where you are. You've been finally put in your place."

"What?"

Just as he got to the top of the stairs, I kicked him down. He hurt his right leg as he went down and could barely stand up anymore.

"Ah! You hurt me! What the fuck is wrong with you, Earl?" he asked in horror.

"You're going to die in here, Gerald."

"Why? Did you do this? Did you start this fire?"

"You really thought you could kill your best friend Joe in cold blood and there wouldn't be any consequences? That the jury would simply hand you a verdict of not guilty and that would be the end of it? Well, you thought wrong. I know the truth of what really happened."

"Why do you care? What's it to you?" he asked as he got up, barely able to walk.

"Does it matter? They say justice is blind," I responded and quickly close the door behind me.

"No! No! Somebody get me out of here!" he asked for help but there was nobody else within miles to hear him.

I heard him come back up the stairs and beating on the door in vain.

"Open this god damn door, McCreary!"

"Now how would that be in my favor, Deckler? How would that be in anyone's favor except yours?"

"You're a fucking psychopath!"

"Bingo!"

At that moment the flames which had spread under the stairs caused them to collapse and Deckler went down with them. Last I heard were his agonizing screams. Somehow it all felt right.

**The next morning…**

"What do we have here, inspector Cross?" asked Fire Chief Hurley.

Inspector Andrew Cross worked for the Arson Division of the West Linn Police Department.

"Gas leak. From what I can tell, the owner recklessly left the stove turned on while at the same time left a half-lit cigarette in the living room before going to bed. Fire started here and quickly spread upstairs. There doesn't appear to be any evidence of foul play, not that fire ever leaves much evidence," the inspector replied.

"Well, that seems consistent with the statements made by his co-workers. Word is he'd always been a reckless guy. I think we're done here, inspector."

And to think I had deluded myself into believing that I could develop a real sense of empathy. No, this is and always will be the real me.


	7. The Letter

[To be continued...]


End file.
